When drilling a wellbore, it may be desirable to measure one or more parameters from within the wellbore near the drill bit. Traditionally, one or more sensors are positioned in a nearbit sub positioned between the drill bit and the rest of the downhole assembly. However, the near-bit sub may add length to the lower end of the downhole motor and may therefore reduce the ability of the downhole assembly to be steered by, for example and without limitation, a bent sub or bent housing. Typically, sensors in the near-bit sub use a wireless connection to transmit information to a measurement while drilling assembly positioned above the downhole motor. However, the use of electromagnetic transmission across the mud motor may require a large amount of power, necessitating the use of batteries and special antennae, which may increase the cost and reliability of the downhole assembly.